Sport Hits All-Time Low When Players Try And 'Lose'!

01 August 2012 10:46

The World Badminton Federation has charged eight female players with misconduct after four Olympic doubles teams had attempted to "throw" matches to secure a more favourable draw later in the tournament.

Olympic Federation: "The pairs have been charged . with 'not using one's best efforts to win a match' and 'conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport'."

The players involved in Tuesday's matches were China's world champions Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang, Indonesia's Greysia Polii and Meiliana Jauhari and two South Korean pairs - Jung Kyung-eun and Kim Ha-na, and Ha Jung-eun and Kim Min Jung.

Spectators at the Wembley Arena shouted abuse and jeered at the players amid farcical scenes as the teams deliberately sprayed shots and duffed serves into the net to concede points.

South Korea head coach Sung Han-kook said his two pairings attempted to throw their matches against China's world champion duo and the Indonesians but added it was in retaliation against the Chinese team who instigated the situation.

He said the Chinese deliberately tried to throw the first of the tainted matches to ensure their leading duo of Yu and Wang would not meet the country's number two pair until the gold medal decider.

"The Chinese started this. They did it first," Sung told reporters through an interpreter. "It's a complicated thing with the draws. They didn't want to meet each other in the semi-final.

"So we did the same. We didn't want to play the South Korean team again (in the knockout stages)."

Ticketing delays at St James' Park which meant some fans missed an Olympic football game were unacceptable, a senior 2012 official has said.

Some people missed the Mexico v South Korea game on Thursday in Newcastle due to long queues for tickets.

Geoff Hodgson, the North East board member for Locog, said: "We cannot allow this to happen again."

On Tuesday the match at SJP attracted a crowd of only 12,000, and authorities suggested the un-sold tickets at matches like this (40,000 of them!) should be sold for £5 each.

Many Toon fans turned up expecting to find £5 tickets, but were told tickets were the usual price of £30.